This thread is to highlight any and all advanced tactics you have used successfully or that look good in theory. Don’t bother posting anything simple or that everyone knows already, I’d like to see a trhead of advanced stuff that can be used to gain a considerable advantage in your games, or that can be used to shock opponents one game into changing their tactics and approach to the game. So, onwards and outwards with the show on my behalf. Please set out posts in this order:
Any general Intro;
ARMY: (Insert army here)
UNITS: (Units Used)
TACTIC: (Insert the Tactic)
FURTHER DISCUSSION: (If Any add it here).
ADAPTATION’S FOR OTHER ARMIES: (Can the tactic be adapted for use by other armies? If so post ideas here).
ARMY: ORCS AND GOBLINS.
UNITS: Savage Orc Big 'Uns & a Battle Standard Bearer.
TACTIC:
If you do play a game with Orcs and Goblins at some point, I encourage you to field a unit of 30 or 40 Savage Orc Big 'Uns in a single rank across the front of your entire army. Maybe shove a unit of gobbo’s in a single rank in front of them for some shooting cover. Give these crazies a BSB with Gorks Banner or the banner of butchery whatever the one is that gives +1 Attack once per game and you can quite literally use this unit to engage those static army lines, the lines which have all the units in a dead even line as they advance. With 4 strength 5 attacks each, your savage orcs will do wonders trimming ranks off of that entire battle line before they break, leaving your completed ranked units in the rear time to move in and finish the job on static Combat Res alone before any attacks are flung their way. Heck if you time it with Wolf Riders et al, you can even ride up a flank with the units causing more damage with this expensive yet highly interesting and beneficial ploy. And who knows, once in a while you may actually win that massed combat.
FURTHER DISCUSSION: I’ve used this against Dwarfs, albeit the chap had a combat army, but in all my experiences, pure combat Dwarf armies (barring pure shooting Dwarf armies) are the hardest ones to beat as they just keep coming at you. Wounding on 3’s ad cancelling most of a units armour save unless they hit hand weapon and shield and even then only a third saving, does alot for you. Each Orc does 1-2 wounds meaning most times the enemy loses a rank.
ADAPTATION’S FOR OTHER ARMIES: DWARFS: The Dwarfs can do a similar thing, it works damned well with Hammerers with the general in the unit with the exception that the unit almost never flees, so once it engages you are stuck in one massive combat of doom for quite some time. An alternative to this with Dwarfs is to take the unit of 40-70 odd Hammerers and stick the Lord in there with an Oathstone. You can, in effect, cover most of the table in this single line of Dwarfs that will break almost never, plus whilst it’s an all eggs in one stone ploy, the enemy HAS to engage you because that single unit represents most of your armies points. It’s damned brutal especially if you rune the Standard up considerably with runes of fun fun.
The Psychology Army: Note that Immune to Pyschology armies don’t suffer from this army (duuhh)
Army:Dark elves
Units:see below
Tactic: General mayhem
Adaptation: I’m pretty sure mortals of chaos, vamps, tomb kings and Daemons can pull this off, but it isn’t nearly as fun.
Fill up your army with All fear/terror causers: Deathmask, some banner I don’t remember, Cold Ones, Dragon, etc.
Now this army alone SHOULD NOT rely on psychology “unless your playin skaven, he he” rather, it should be used as a general aid to the battle, I mean, imagine a unit of say, Chaos Knights fleeing just because bad dice rolls forced them to run from a master/lord with Deathmask and 5 Dark Riders
Now this army alone SHOULD NOT rely on psychology "unless your playin skaven, he he" rather, it should be used as a general aid to the battle, I mean, imagine a unit of say, Chaos Knights fleeing just because bad dice rolls forced them to run from a master/lord with Deathmask and 5 Dark Riders
Cryonicleech
Could you expand on that? Chaos Knights cause Fear and or thus not as effected by Terror causers, also they are likely to be sporting the MoS or MoK thus negating it completely.
@Auretius,
Isn't this horribly vulnerable to a counter attack? By almost any unit with decent static combat res. Not to mention hittier stuff.
It seems to me even a basic cav unit will manage to just about win against the unit especially if you choose not to use the banner, and you might want to save it for the big combats?
Isn't the obvious answer to strike against you with something faster, e.g. cavalry and especially not letting you engage the whole infantry line at once? I for one would immediately retreat or advance the units as appropriate so you wouldn't be able to more than one unit. If we are talking dwarfs the chance of them holding is pretty great whereupon next turn you will get mauled by a couple of counter charging units? This sounds more like a gimmic than a tactic, what am I missing?
I agree it’s horribly vulnerable, epecialy to Spear-Point, Pincer and Oblique-Line manouvers.
Hell, if my main block of 40 Canrats (usulally with a tooled-up chieftain) gets the charge (which I almost certainly will as Skaven), I’ll statistically draw or near-draw with you not even counting the chieftain. My +3 rank bonus should then save the day and you’re running. If I’m running an Oblique line, the following turn, my Rat Ogres and whatever left flank feint I’m using (likeley Globadiers with a Warlock Engineer) start to make contact on your now static line should you not run.
It also then causes panic accross most of your line.
Now this army alone SHOULD NOT rely on psychology "unless your playin skaven, he he" rather, it should be used as a general aid to the battle, I mean, imagine a unit of say, Chaos Knights fleeing just because bad dice rolls forced them to run from a master/lord with Deathmask and 5 Dark Riders
Cryonicleech
Could you expand on that? Chaos Knights cause Fear and or thus not as effected by Terror causers, also they are likely to be sporting the MoS or MoK thus negating it completely.
snowblizz
I thought fear causing units were only immune to other fear causing units? Although, not that I've ever had the situation where a fear causing unit has been in combat with a terror causing unit... oddly...
Now this army alone SHOULD NOT rely on psychology "unless your playin skaven, he he" rather, it should be used as a general aid to the battle, I mean, imagine a unit of say, Chaos Knights fleeing just because bad dice rolls forced them to run from a master/lord with Deathmask and 5 Dark Riders
Cryonicleech
Could you expand on that? Chaos Knights cause Fear and or thus not as effected by Terror causers, also they are likely to be sporting the MoS or MoK thus negating it completely.
snowblizz
I thought fear causing units were only immune to other fear causing units? Although, not that I've ever had the situation where a fear causing unit has been in combat with a terror causing unit... oddly...
@Fallen246, The best way to utilise what you are suggesting with dark Elves would be (IIRC) a Death Mask on an infiltrating assassin or a Dark Rider born chap, as well as a manticore/dragon. You can drop the 2 characters within range of most units of the enemy in more clumped formations and cause massed terror tests just when you need to. Against fear causing units, terror drops to fear so is not as useful. Because armies liek Tomb Kings and Vamp’s and some Chaos armies exist where they all mostly cause fear, it is more situational hence the lesser degree of points invested into it.
To comments on my savage orc line: It works in some cases, others it doesn’t. In any case, it comes down to the day, if you have a unit of goblin shortbowmen in a line first as your first deployment then you can leave thje Savage orcs to last and decide from there, buta unit of 30 is still able to be ranked into 5x6 or 6x5 and becomes a lynch pin of a battle line regardless. Against suggested counter attacks et al, yes they happen, but you also have the rest of your army also, most orc and goblin players will be packing a giant or something else that is randomly inspiring and most better players will have ALOT of distractions in the army. It’s not a tactic that will work every time, but that’s where good generalship comes into play.
slev your arrogance in you getting the charge as skaven almost always amuses me. Go ahead and charge, I may have fanatics for you, or I may well have set up a sacrificial charge to draw you in. You’re movement 6, I have wolf riders that are movement 9, Warhammer Fantasy is more then any of GW’s other games about careful and proper use of manouevring. Setting up an Oblique line means that I turn around and counter that by ranking my unit of Savage Orcs up solidly and deploying in response respectively. I can still cover my ass with an entire line of Night Goblin Archers shoved ahead so anything on ground level has to chip trough them to shoot anything behind and 30 or 40 shortbow shots do a surprising amount of damage on an enemy.
@Fallen246, The best way to utilise what you are suggesting with dark Elves would be (IIRC) a Death Mask on an infiltrating assassin or a Dark Rider born chap, as well as a manticore/dragon. You can drop the 2 characters within range of most units of the enemy in more clumped formations and cause massed terror tests just when you need to. Against fear causing units, terror drops to fear so is not as useful. Because armies liek Tomb Kings and Vamp's and some Chaos armies exist where they all mostly cause fear, it is more situational hence the lesser degree of points invested into it.
Auretious Taak
First up, not my suggestion :P
Secondly, the Terror Mask is a 50 point enchanted item, thus not available to assassins (who get 75 points of Khainite gifts, not normal magic weapons) and totally beyond the points usage of any non-hero/lord unit.
So for the tactic to be implemented you would quite likely need a Lord character (or a Hero with no other magical equipment), and considering a Manticore is available to heroes and lords and Black Dragon is available to Lords I kinda fail to see the point in the mask anyways except for say a sorcereress on a Dark Steed (if you have multiple sorceresses), as Cold Ones cause fear.
I find the savage orc line to be really stupid and there are many many problems with it.
Lets take a few if somone charge them (and that should be really easy to set up with a frenzie unit) they brake all you army behind who are hit will have to take a panic test - not very funny with O&G.
“The Psychology Army” The 3 best lists right now are Vampires, Dark Elf and Deamons so you tactic don’t work against 2 of the best lists - thats not very smart m8.